Coulson told Inside Soap of David's idea: "Carol thinks, 'Why not?' David makes her feel good and she's not thinking very far ahead. She's in the moment. It's not just a sex thing, it's about having somebody love her again."

She continued: "Carol will be very brittle if she loses David after this. She'll put up all her defences and think, 'That's it - nobody is going to destroy me again'."

The actress added that Carol doesn't understand why her family are unable to forgive and forget when it comes to David.

"Max and Derek hate David because of what happened in the past," she explained. "But Carol is like, 'I'm 50 years old, let's move on!' Whereas they don't want to see him anywhere near Carol, it seems a bit silly to her. They should be grown-ups."

EastEnders airs the latest Carol and David twists all next week on BBC One.